Changing Economic Scenario of the Peri-Urban Area of Udaipur City, India

Abstract

The demographic data of the last few decades revealed an increasing tendency of urbanisation in many states in India, including Rajasthan. The rural:urban ratio of the population which remained 80:20 in 1971 changed to 69:31 in 2011. The high growth rate of the population in urban areas increased the urban demand for agricultural commodities on one hand and widened the demand for land for the construction of houses, roads and other civil amenities on the other hand. With the expansion of urban areas, the adjoining rural areas are changed to peri-urban in terms of facilities, amenities and lifestyle. Evidently, there is a visible tremendous expansion in the value addition of land in the peri-urban area of the city of Udaipur. The present study is aimed to ascertain the changing scenario of land utilisation, change in farming system, and composition of household income in peri-urban areas.

The study revealed that urban coverage in Udaipur has increased from 17 km² in 1946 to 221 km² in 2011, while the density of population in the city area has been found to decline from 4347 persons per km² in 1946 to 3773 persons per km² in 2011. This is because more than 25 % plots in the urban limit are left idle after the conversion of land for residential purposes, which are owned by the people only for value addition and protected by boundary walls. This area is neither used for construction of houses nor for crop production. Large numbers of small land holders residing in the periphery of urban areas generally sold their land and purchased land 40–50 km away from the city areas. The study further revealed that farmers who partially sold their land in peri-urban areas of the city are mostly cultivating vegetables and dairy enterprises on their remaining holdings. These farmers are getting 446 days of employment and Rs. 3.52 lacs as income per year from both the enterprises. The farmers who did not sell their land area at all are getting 694 days employment and Rs. 4.72 lacs as income per year, while farmers who sold their total land area for residential purposes to the urban people have their income reduced up to Rs. 1.47 lacs and are getting negligible employment.